Feeding Time...

Since the last weekend Jun Lee now knows how to plop herself onto her pillow when she sees the milk bottle. She actually started doing so about a fortnight back, but would end up with her head not actually on the pillow. Now she's doing it quite accurately, and it's so cute to see her go to her pillow (either in the cot upstairs or the playroom mattress) when she sees us coming with the milk for them.

Photo Gear Talk...

This will basically document the stuff I have at any point in time. It is most telling that I change stuff very often, but then luckily I almost never lose any dough on them...

Sep 2008
Nikon D40, Nikon 18-70mm f3.5-4.5, Nikon SB-400, Crumpler 5MDH, Nikon 80-200mm f4 AI, Manfrotto 190PRO

Oct 2008
Nikon D60, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, Nikon 18-70mm f3.5-4.5, Nikon SB-400, Crumpler 5MDH, Nikon 80-200mm f4 AI, Manfrotto Monopod 676B

Nov 2008
Nikon D60, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, Nikon 18-70mm f3.5-4.5, Nikon SB-400, Crumpler 5MDH, Manfrotto Monopod 676B

Jan 2009
Canon 450D, Canon 17-40mm f4L, Canon 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS, Canon 50mm f1.8, Nissin Di622, Manfrotto Monopod 676B, old Tatonka bag

Feb 2009
Canon 450D, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, Canon 430EX, Manfrotto Monopod 676B, Bagman CA05

Jan 2010
Canon 450D, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 VC, Canon 430EX, Manfrotto Monopod 676B, Bagman CA05

Amazing isn't it, the gear changes in February alone? Almost all the lenses I had in January have been sold. It's pretty normal as I am new to the Canon system, so a lot of trial and error. For now I think I've reached a sweetspot, and this setup should stay for now. Maybe a 50mm f1.4...

Babies Holiday... Day 2...

Jun Lee & Jun Yen woke up around 0730 (fairly typical time) and sent me running to make their milk. However, they drank very little, about 3oz of their normal 6oz. Went to breakfast at the coffee house at 0900, got a seat on the verandah. Food was okay, with a decent selection. The service was also alright with plates being cleared in good time and all, but the replenishment was so slooowwww...

After breakfast, off we went around Cameron Highlands...

First we stopped at Cactus Point, where there were some flowers, and a lot of cacti (obviously!).

Prickly stuff...

Went on down to Tanah Rata to have lunch at the Summer Kaye Garden. This place has decent food amidst a garden-like setting, with their home-made noodles particularly noteworthy...

Grandma, put me down, I want to walk...

Our tummies satisfied, we went over to the MARDI facility. Bought some strawberry jam (which from previous experience was quite good) and a bottle of strawberry concentrate. (which later proved to be great poured over ice cream...)

Later that evening, went to the Sungai Palas Plantation visitors centre, and got a nice table right next to the balcony.

Jun Lee: Mommy, why you copy me...

Jun Lee: See... copy me again...

Jun Yen & Jun Lee...

Jun Lee & Jun Yen...

Tired out from the long exciting day (largely from all the loading and unloading of strollers and what have yous...) decided not to go out for dinner, and we tapau-ed from Marrybrown. Something not available in the Klang Valley (which someone subsequently corrected me is in Berjaya Times Square...), and from previous experience at Genting, their chicken is really good...

Thus ended Day 2...

Babies Holiday... Day 1...

To my amazement, I actually finished editing the photos by Saturday! So here's the post on our recent holiday... complete with pics!

Brought the babies on their first holiday last week (13 Dec) to Cameron Highlands with their Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle too. Although I'm tickled pink describing it as babies' holiday, because indeed, what could they be needing a break from? Hehe...

Stayed at the Hotel Equatorial's 3-bedroom apartment. Our experience of the place warranted a story on its own here.

We left home about 11am and stopped at Sungkai for lunch at about 1pm. Lunch was superb, with braised pig's trotters, river fish, and local veges. Absolutely amazing stuff being dished out from an unassuming coffee shop setup on the main road.

Arrived and checked in at close to 4pm. The babies slept almost all the way from Simpang Pulai to Kea Farm, which is a good thing. After checking in, settled down and had tea, and Mom prepared the night's dinner. Basically we were just sitting back and relaxing until dinner time. Balcony has a decent view of vegetable farms and we had a pleasant time sitting there.

This place is nice and cool...

Later just before dinner, fed the babies with cereal. As the usual baby chairs were not available, we made do by sitting them on the couch. Worked fine on the most part, though they kept getting up and walking all over...

Cereal in the highlands...

Dinner was great, we had steamboat next to the balcony, and Mom brought a lot of yummy things including her home-made fishpaste, and some scarily big prawns! We put the babies next to us in the cot. Speaking of the (hotel-supplied) cot, it was in surprisingly good condition, complete with little blanket and sheets. Though for the sake of familiarity we brought the babies' own sheets and pillow...

Mommy, we want a big big prawn...

After dinner put the babies to bed around 9pm (past their usual bedtime) but they were so excited that they protested very vocally. But they were so tired from the long day they didn't keep it up and fell asleep rather quickly...

Hotel Equatorial Cameron Highlands...

On our recent holiday to Cameron Highlands, I ended up booking the 3-room apartment at the Hotel Equatorial for 2 night for the sum of about RM1,500, based on my favourable perception of the Equatorial Melaka.

Decent hotels are not exactly plentiful in Camerons, with the only premium hotel, th Cameron Highlands Resort, charging prices similar to a hotel room in London. We previously stayed at the Century Pines in 2006, and it was actually pretty good. However, this time they were fully booked.

Equatorial, being a reasonably well known name in these parts, came to mind. So in booking a place there, I was looking forward to comfortable rooms, decent breakfasts, et al as I have come to expect of Equatorial hotels (the Melaka one anyway...).

What we got was utter rubbish (for the price) for most part, which I will not describe here as it will take a few pages. All I can say is if you're going to Camerons, do NOT stay at the Equatorial. You have been warned.

What, no pics?...

Okay, I KNOW I take forever to upload pics, and wifey's breathing down my neck doesn't help. I've never quite managed to be happy about the stuff that comes directly out from the camera, something always needs tweaking.

Lest you think I'm guilty of fakery and embellishing photos, I'm not, and my tweaks are usually limited to exposure adjustments. The exposure meter can sometimes be wonky... Nikons of late have meters that seem to need a bit of manual intervention, and usually veers on the side of overexposure. Trust me, I'm not the only one who complains of this trait.

The good thing is most pics come out bright and cheery and saturated to the point of looking really punchy, and most people are happy to the point they don't notice the blown out highlights...

On another note, I've had a revamp of my photo equipment lately and there has been a lot of buying and selling of stuff in the last 2 months.

Stuff I've bought: D60 body, Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, Nikon 55-200mm f4.0-5.6 VR, Manfrotto 676B monopod, hotshoe mounted spirit level, Kingston 4GB SDHC Micro-SD card...

Stuff I've sold: D40 body, Nikon 55-200mm f4.0-5.6 VR (yes you read that right...), Nikon 18-70mm f3.5-4.5, Crumpler 5MDH shoulder bag, Nikon 80-200mm f4.0 AIS...

So now all I am left with is the D60 body, Tamron 17-50 and an old Tatonka bag. All I need to get is a decent bag (thinking of a Kata).

I love the D40 series bodies for its small size. I used to own a D70, and it was very cumbersome. Similarly I really like the 18-70 lens, but ultimately plumped for the Tamron due to its large aperture. Reminds me of my old Tokina 28-70 which I used on my F80 many years ago.

Also dislike backpacks as they are large and not conducive to quick photos. Imagine to access something in the backpack, you have to take the bag off, lay it on sometimes very questionable surfaces, and then take the stuff out, and close the bag and lug it back on in case someone nicks your stuff... Very very tedious. Of course they're great for carrying lots of gear, but now that I am in the minimalist equipment school-of-thought, I can make do with a small shoulder bag.

And now, back to work on the photos... Just got back from the babies' first vacation in Cameron Highlands on Monday, and promised myself I will upload pics before the week is out!

The Trick...

I spent a good part of yesterday with the twins as wifey was out for some shopping and gym.

Bro came over for a while, and saw Jun Lee do a nifty trick to get back her toy. Jun Yen is the more possessive one, and tends to grab toys from Jun Lee. For whatever reason, despite being bigger than Jun Yen, she seems to lose in most of these grabs.

Today Jun Lee was playing with a plastic ring, which is nothing new to them, but Jun Yen just had to have it and grabbed it. Jun Lee let it go, and went to pick up a book, and started to like wave it in front of her sister to attract her. Jun Yen then dropped the ring and went to get the book, and Jun Lee got back her toy. Mission accomplished!

This and That...

Oh my, over a month with no updates... Well, it's certainly not due to lack of material. The babies just celebrated their 1 year old birthday last month, and I've only JUST finished editing and compiling the pics. Will post them up soon...

Yesterday Jun Yen went around saying something that sounded like "sherka" repeatedly, and I was at a loss why, until wifey realised it probably meant "cher ke" or "this" in Mandarin. She probably picked it up by us pointing to pictures in the books and posters and saying "this is..."

True enough, in the afternoon she stood up and started pointing at pictures on the wall and saying (more clearly this time...) "cher ke" repeatedly.

Also they now know to identify their ears, nose and head by pointing to them when we ask. Now trying to teach them to point to their tummy and mouth, though so far whenever asked to point at their mouth they simply end up putting their fingers into it instead, so I'm not sure if we succeeded...

Happy Birthday Jun Lee & Jun Yen!!!

A year has passed and the twins are now ONE! Yup... time flies...

We had a birthday party to celebrate on the 18th October with our relatives and friends. Thank you all!

Jun Lee & Jun Yen were very happy, and very well behaved, though they were still having a bit of a cold. Both of them, being very excited to see so many people, made quite a bit of noise and wanted to touch everything. Grandma had to dig her purse to find stuff for them to fiddle with to keep them occupied.

During the cake cutting, I let them both hold the knife, and JL, being particularly curious, didn't want to let go of it afterwards... We had to open up a few presents there and then for them to play with.

Papa, Mommy, blow the candle for us...

We cut big big piece for ourselves, okie...

We're ONE year old!!!

Jun Lee...

Jun Yen...

Can we go online with this???

Mommy, come open our presents...

Our 1st birthday cake, see... we took a taste...

Jun Lee and Jun Yen were very happy, and very well behaved, though they were still having a bit of a cold. Both were very excited to see so many people, made quite a bit of noise and wanted to touch everything. Grandma had to dig in her purse to find stuff for them to fiddle with to keep them occupied. Which is why JY is holding a lipstick...

They also managed to gouge a hole in the cake when we weren't looking, though in the excitement, I cannot remember who did it...

During the cake cutting, I let them both hold the knife, and JL, being particularly curious, didn't want to let go of it afterwards... We had to open up a few presents there and then for them to play with.

Pregnancy Blog...

Yet another update on the pregnancy blog. It is simply too long to post up in this form. As such I will put it into a Word file, complete with index and all. Hey, whaddaya expect, it's close to 9 months long...

Jasmine's Pregnancy Blog

Okay, my bad, wifey actually gave me her pregnancy blog to post up not long after the twins were born, but what with one thing or another it didn't get put up, till now...!!! in conjunction with babies' first birthday!

Have a read, it lists the memorable moments during her pregnancy, and see if carrying twins is any different from a single baby...

Their bag of tricks... so far...

Up till now both babies can do a few acts of their own. These include:

a) Clapping hands - already mentioned before, only since about 2 months ago JY actually does it louder maybe because her palms are fleshier. They do this pretty regularly when they're happy, and most notably when they see their milk on the way...

b) Red Indian cry - they'd cup their palms over their mouths and go '...wa wa wa..." repeatedly, kinda like those old stereotypical Wild West movie Indians. Actually this was a botched attempt to teach them to do a flying kiss.

c) Tim Chung Chung - I have no idea what to call this... as the original term is in Cantonese, and even then I still don't know why it's called that. Basically it involves putting the tips of your index fingers together (no mean feat for a baby's not fully developed motor skills). It's mostly all JL, only that she does a variation of it by putting the tip of her index finger on her other palm.

d) Flying kiss - after the first attempts to teach them this led to the Red Indian cry, they gradually picked it up and started doing it properly from middle of last month, accompanied by a loud "...MUAH..."

e) Tongue wagging - JL does this by repeatedly moving her tongue across her mouth sideways, making this loud gurgling sound. I have no idea how she does it because I can't seem to do it. Maybe my adult tongue simply isn't as flexible...

Babies in Teluk Intan...

Last Saturday we finally found a chance to visit wifey's hometown, what with the babies being too small earlier, father-in-law's travelling, and our own schedules, settling on a slot was a bit vexing.

We originally aimed to leave by 0830, but what with one thing or another only got moving by 0930 after dropping off the maid at my parents'. Even though it was only a day trip, the amount of stuff we packed is simply beyond belief. You'd think we were going away for a week!

Traffic was very smooth, and weather very good, being cloudy most of the way, so there wasn't much use for the sunshades I bought last Thursday. The babies were naturally very curious and looked all around, but quickly fell asleep within half an hour after we left. Their normal pattern is usually a nap after their breakfast anyway, so they pretty much kept to it.

They slept all the way until just after Bidor, Jun Yen woke up first followed shortly by Jun Lee. It was quite amusing as Jun Yen woke up quite cheerfully and started chattering with Mommy, but Jun Lee was actually frowning quite a bit and looked distinctly grumpy at having her nap interrupted.

Due to the clear traffic, we made pretty good time and arrived in just under 2 hours. We put them down on a mattress we laid on the floor to play, and had to keep a close eye on them as they began crawling off the mattress when no one was looking.

Had lunch at Gulam Rasul, a nearby nasi kandar place, and it was simply fantastic. If you're in Teluk Intan give it a try. The Ayam Goreng Berempah (spicy fried chicken) was sensational!

Went to visit wifey's aunt who took care of babies a while ago, and she was quite delighted to see them, and had some dresses for the babies. A bit large for them now so saving it for later. Jun Lee didn't protest much being carried by their grand-aunt, but Jun Yen cried whenever grand-aunt tried to hold her. It's been many months since they saw her, so it's no wonder they don't recognise her.

Stopped by Sin Guan Hoe to buy the obligatory Heong Peng (biscuits with a molasses filling) and mooncakes. Left Teluk Intan around 1630. The babies fell asleep more or less as soon as we started off. Too much excitement for the day perhaps...

And so they slept all the way until we arrived back at parents' place at 1830. They've been very good girls throughout the trip, and the travelling didn't seem to bother them. Hopefully we'll be able to take them to more places in future.

Proton Saga reviewed...

As an addition to my post on small cars here, I'm including this review of the 2nd gen Proton Saga. This was actually prompted by a friend asking me for my thoughts on this car, and though I had driven it I didn't include it in the original post as I was thinking more of hatches than sedans. But seeing as it shares the same price bracket (and more...) with the Savvy, it would make sense to include it here.

Firstly, as any Malaysian knows the first gen Proton Saga was the first model of national car, and lasted an unprecedented 20-over years, by midway through its life becoming the butt of many jokes. It also went through more facelifts than Michael Jackson, surely no mean feat...

The launch of the new 2nd gen Saga then was a turning point of sorts for Proton under the new management, and represented a casting off of the doldrums which had plagued the national automaker in recent years.

My first impression of the car is that it looks very handsome in a mainstream way, with not a line out of place, no idiosyncracies of note. This could also mean that it was boring to look at, but it certainly offended no one, and for a mass market car, could only be an asset.

The interior too is admirable. Conventionally laid out instruments, lots of room all round, especially the headroom, giving the car an airy feel. Dash materials feel decent enough, though the slippery and thin door lock knob is a cause for concern, but really isn't a big deal at all. Stereo is a 1-DIN Clarion unit which should make it easy to upgrade. Driving position is spot-on, and as it is based on the Savvy which is good in this area, is no real surprise.

A quick note first: I drove the M-Line Auto. On driving it out, I was pleasantly surprised that it had a big-car feel about it, and taking a corner or two didn't change my opinion. Comfort was good, definitely one of the better small cars in this area, though the tall suspension did dull its handling and contributed to more than a bit of body roll. It was certainly unlike its donor car in this respect, but then this is made up by its comfort and load carrying ability the tall suspension affords.

Engine was up to scratch, hauling the car with acceptable pace, but got a bit buzzy when stretched. The manual transmission should improve on this, without losing power to the slushbox. Brakes were decent with progressive travel that should make it easy to modulate and good bite despite the disc-drum setup, which is acceptable for a car this size.

Built quality looked good all round, with no particular areas to note. the only drawbacks are the safety gear which even in current M-line form has only a single airbag and no ABS. But still better than a certain Japanese car going for less than 70k...

All in a very, very good car for the price (less than 42k even for the top spec), and trumps all other competitors (err, what competitors?). Seriously, at this price, for this size, it simply has no peer for now. And it shows in the huge order book, with a reported waiting list of up to 6 months!

Another friend, an owner of a Japanese sedan, having seen it up close, remarked to me he couldn't see why anyone would pay twice as much for a City or Vios. Interesting question indeed...

Papa's Day With Babies...

August 31 was Malaysia's National Day (or more accurately Independence Day...) and as it fell on a Sunday, the next day (Monday) was a holiday too.

Papa, you're gonna take care of us the whole day?...

Unfortunately, wifey had to work, so it was up to me to take care of the babies that day. Haven't spent the whole day alone with them for a while now...
Day began rather slowly, they woke up (okay, woke up and bawled in earnest) at around 9am. They had been awake a while before that and were playing contentedly in their cots, so I didn't bother. But when the bawling started, I made them their milk and true to form, went back to nap after their breakfast.

Brought them downstairs around 10am plus, still a bit bleary eyed, and bathed first Jun Lee then Jun Yen. Both are now very comfortable in their baths, and it's been quite easy to bathe them ever since they learnt to sit in the tub quite a while before. They also like to play in the bath and would slap the water with their hands; Jun Yen does this more vigorously, and I got quite wet as as result. They also like to have the rubber ducky in the bath, but today I didn't put it in for them. So a quick bath, dry up, and another bottle of milk at 11am.

Put them into the playpen and they remained content to play with their toys (their favourite is the Lego mouse-thingy) while I skipped upstairs to order pizza online, hehe... Used to order Dominos but of late Pizza Hut has gotten its act together, and the Pan Pizza-Thin Crust combo for 32bucks delivered was a decent deal.

By 1pm, the babies looked kinda sleepy, so I brought them up to their cots (not without some protest...) to nap. Brother came over and we had pizza and watched a DVD. Around 3pm they woke up, so bro and I brought them downstairs to the playpen again, before he went back home.

Soon it began raining, and raining.

A rainy afternoon...

I pushed the playpen to the door so the babies could watch the rain. I sat next to them watching as the rain pelted down, and I felt very contented. They too, looked like they were mesmerised by the rain. I turned to look at them and they looked back and smiled, with Jun Lee saying something to me that sounded like "Ehh", and went back to watching the rain. Satisfaction is a strange thing...

Jun Yen's 3rd Tooth...

Surprise, surprise! We actually found why Jun Yen has been so naughty and restless of late; she has a 3rd tooth! Both twins already have two lower front teeth. Jun Lee hasn't grown her's yet.

Over the last fortnight or so it's like the twins took a personality swap. The adventurous streak in Jun Lee seems to have been toned down and taken over by Jun Yen. Now she's the one who's crawling about all over the place. In fact nowadays you're far more likely to have Jun Yen crawl down from the mattress and onto the mats than her sister.

That doesn't mean Jun Lee has lost her streak of persistence. Wifey nicknamed Jun Lee the "Bulldozer" due to her habit of climbing over everything in her way, including us, and even Jun Yen!

Trying to stand up...

By now even Jun Yen can crawl very well (when she wants to...) and both can stand up if they're holding on to something, be it the cot, wall, mattress or me or wifey...

Jun Lee can stand unaided but only for a while before she gets scared and sits down. Jun Yen has a stronger waist and can actually stand up, though she needs to hold onto something as a guide, even my pinkie will do... Why I say she uses it only as a guide? I can't feel any force on my finger, which would be the case if she used it for support to pull herself up. Problem is once she's up she tends to get excited and tries to jump, and falling back down.

Potty trained...

The babies since mid-June have learnt to sit on the potty unassisted. They were previously using an old blue circular one but had to be held while they went. Decided to try to let them sit on one alone, and one night I went out to Babyland and got a 40buck potty! One of those contoured stuff which allowed the babies to sit firmly. I got a white Chicco one.

Jun Lee on their new potty...

By now Jun Yen has developed a sort of routine, after the second feed we'd plop her onto the potty, and usually she'd do her poopoo then and save us all the trouble of the dreaded pooed-in diaper change. If we didn't get anything we'd try again after the 3rd feed. Jun Lee on the other hand almost always does so after the 3rd feed. Not fail safe though, and yesterday let's just say I got some poo on my shirt, my shorts and the playpen...

Not long after this photo, the colorful sticker you see on the front of the potty was removed as they kept trying to tear it off...

I tell you, if one year ago you told me I'd be writing about poo... Oh gosh, what have I become... A Dad! Hey, that's not bad at all... Hehe...

Funny noises...

By now the babies are making all kinds of sounds, including the Papapapa episodes earlier. We've noticed by now they seem to find a new sound, make a lot of it because its new, then stop completely a week or two later.

Jun Lee also picked up "Teh teh teh..." a long while back, and always used to make that sound when she's climbing or crawling. It's really cute... As I probably mentioned before, in the daytime they are in the downstairs room on the large mattress. The room has a netting door. There were a few times she "tehtehteh..." all the way from the mattress onto the floor, and pushed open the door!

On the minus side Jun Yen has learnt how to do this ear-piercing shriek a few weeks back, and even worse Jun Lee is now doing that too! We scold them whenever they do that.

Jun Lee also added "Tatatatata..." to her vocabulary, and yesterday it was quite funny when she hit my open palm with her hand whilst going "Tatatatata..."

Jun Yen too has learnt to do "Pffftttt..." accompanied by a spray of saliva, and by now all of us have at one time or another been sprayed in the face by her. Even worse when she does it when being fed cereal. Not a pretty sight...

Looking at small cars...

Being on the lookout for a small car lately, wifey and I have been doing a lot of test driving and so far the cars I have tested include the Naza Bestari 206, Suzuki Swift, Hyundai Getz, Proton Savvy, Perodua Myvi and even the just-launched-last-Friday Hyundai i10. Here then are quick reviews of all the cars mentioned. Also of interest would be a review of the Saga.

From all that driving around 3 things stood out...

Number 1: the Bestari 206 is noisy. This is surprising as being a Peugeot owner, I expected the Europeans to be the most refined of the bunch. True, it generated no notable wind and road noise, but the engine noise was thrashy, coarse and the worst part is you do need to thrash it to get any acceleration, so you'll be living with the noise a good portion of the time. The engine? Very last century. It's weak, and aside from the decent torque arriving at an astonishing 2800rpm, nothing nice to say about it. It clearly lacked the punch to move the 206, and an autobox blunted it even more. The noise I mentioned is almost always there throughout the rev range, and the amount of noise when you floor the pedal is nowhere near the amount of acceleration you get. Handling is good, there is quite a bit of body roll in typical Pug fashion, but don't be fooled, the limits are still quite some way off. Ride comfort was okay, a bit firmer than I expected. Built quality was good as far as I could see, with no weird noises from the interior, though there were some uneven gaps some places. Big points though to the 3 lap-sash seatbelts in the rear. If you think that's small potatoes, check out a Honda Civic or 7th gen Accord and see if they have it... (they don't!!!)

Number 2: the Savvy is shockingly good. Again, I say shockingly as you wouldn't know from the response towards this car. Most buyers simply ignored it and herded towards the Myvi. After the drive all I can say is that they really are missing out on quite a bit.
Refinement is good for its class, and engine noise remained relatively muted, road noise and wind noise nothing to complain about. But the biggest surprise is the ride comfort and handling. It simply blew all the others (maybe tying the Swift) into the weeds. Damping was good, and even on the construction riddled Subang airport road it remained well behaved; bumps and holes were more heard than felt. In spite of the comfy ride, handling was close to spot-on. Steering feel was great, very responsive and quick with decent heft. Reminds me of my old Satria Gti actually... Who says the Lotus association hasn't paid big dividends??? Only notable disappointment was the steering material, it wasn't exactly nice to touch...
Power was decent despite the lowest on paper ratings, most likely due to the lack of a power-sapping torque converter. Engine noise was not any rougher or noisier than others in the group. Its trump card however, must be the reported fuel consumption, which is claimed to be up to 18km/L! Even after discounting the optimism in the testing, I figured you'd still end up with around 13-14km/L, which is still a lot. In auto mode the gearshifts had a slight lag as the ECU was retarded the engine a bit too much, so you actually feel a quite a bit of a jerk. In manual mode it also exhibited similar behaviour, but after barely a short spin around we got the hang of it and learned to release the accelerator a bit when shifting, thereby making gearchanges as smooth as it could be with a normal manual box. Truth be told both wifey and I had a lot of fun in the car. To put things into perspective, similar AMT boxes such as the Selespeed and the Smart car generate a similar if not worse jerky behaviour, but once you get used to the release pedal thingy, it's fine. I've driven both, and let's just say that the first time I drove the Smart ForTwo, I felt quite ill by the end of the spin around the block! You wouldn't shift gears in a normal manual car with the accelerator pedal on full bore anyway, so I suppose we can't expect any different from the AMT.
The interior was probably the only place where it lost points. It was very plasticky, ESPECIALLY the door panels, though the quality of the plastics were not that bad, and I've actually seen worse in a car costing nearly twice its price (I won't say which...) but compared to the pretty i10 dash and the stylishly simple Swift, looked quite dowdy. To its credit, everything was intuitively laid out and fell to hand naturally. Pedals were also laid out properly unlike the 206 which seemed to be skewed to one side. But they could have at least put some cloth at the doors like the Saga lah...
At the end of the day it's nice in most ways (plastics galore and size aside), and the only suspect is the reliability problems that have plagued Proton. Though recently quality has gone up a notch, there's still some way to go. The TUV certification and 5-year warranty does go some way towards addressing our scepticism...

Number 3: the Hyundai i10 is a great car for its size. I expected a car that size to be tincan-like and clunky to drive. It wasn't and nothing could be further from the truth. Refinement was good; road and wind noise well suppressed, and damping is very good. Feels like a much bigger car. Of course handling suffers due to the height of the car, but not notably bad aside from being a bit wobbly at higher speeds. Interior room was also superb, considering its size. One trick that made its legroom feel bigger was to make occupants sit straighter and higher, which it effortlessly did with its high roof (the car is as tall as a Myvi!!!). I suppose for short commutes this is fine, but it would get very tiring to sit like you're on a straight backed bench after a while. Another drawback was the cost cutting extended to the lack of an rpm meter...

And the rest? The Getz was actually the most well rounded of the lot, with a decent engine, decent handling, decent comfort and decent interior. Decent everything in fact, but nothing that stands out as being particularly bad or good. But then we know by now that mediocrity sells, look at Toyota...
Like most Toyotas, it too was eminently forgettable. I can't seem to think of anything noteworthy to say about the car less than a fortnight after I tested it, such is its anonymity. But that, strange as it may sound, is actually a compliment. That meant no wayward noise, no lack of power or weird seating position to annoy me. Special mention has to go to the clever 2-level boot, see it for yourself!

The Swift appeared to be the most well built, though by a slim margin. Interior plastics looked fine but didn't feel good, being in some places nastier than the even the Savvy plastics, and felt curiously hollow. Engine noise was also unpleasant, and closest I can come to describing it would be buzzy. Despite being one of the cars in this group with variable valve timing, power was just adequate. Comfort was also not a standout, though handling felt at the top of the group bar the Savvy which felt more nimble probably largely due to its size. Surprisingly, the Swift's wheelbase is significantly shorter than the Getz. More surprisingly, it is also shorter than the Savvy, though by only a smidgen, it's still something you'd never be able to tell from just looking at both cars.

The Myvi was just plain disappointing. It handles like a strand of wet noodle, it isn't particularly comfortable, and built quality was just so-so. The engine was coarse and loud, was not powerful despite the promises of the DVVT, and road noise was very memorable. Also word is around that the fuel consumption is awful, in some cases with people claiming it costs about as much as their Wira 1.5, a car that is about 15 years older, is carburettored, has a 3 speed auto, and weighs about the same. The only reasons why anyone should buy it is because of the perceived reliability of Peroduas and the fabulous room in all directions. The final straw for me though is that it isn't cheap. You could buy any of the others in this comparo (bar the Swift) for less than 10k more, and buying the Savvy in top spec guise would save you about 5k. I would say there is no reason, under any circumstance, that anyone should buy it, but the Myvi fanboys would come at me real quick. Just witness the mindless "Myvi rules..." posting in local forums...

What will we be getting? Well, we already have a large car, and wifey just need it to commute to and from work, and our priority is in not getting into any debt. Take a guess... :)

Grandpa's Birthday...

Yeah, it was Dad's (Grandpa to them...) birthday celebration last Sunday!

We had already decided since February that we would be bringing Dad to this place for his birthday. We brought Mom here for her birthday this year, and she found the food was rather unique, and also because they do a cheesy and funny Mexican serenade for you if it's your birthday, which she thought would amuse Dad.

First birthday with my grandaughters... L-R: JL & JY

Actually we found out about the whole "serenade" thing when we celebrated MH's birthday there (the USJ branch) last year... The USJ branch is much more happening as it's got more customers, and also because its housed in a shoplot, and hence more crowded. So the Damansara Heights branch it was...

Went to Las Carretas, and babies came along. Very excited they were too!

Coincidentally their baby chairs were the same as the ones we had (minus the trays) so babies felt quite at home sitting there. They were very happy and made a lot of noise.

They also had their first restaurant meal, haha! We scraped and mashed a teeny bit of the baked potato and gave them a taste, which they seemed to like.

Very happy night indeed...

Stuff that has gone wrong with the car...

Went for the 10k routine service (oil change, inspection, etc.) last month on the 10th at the Toyota Service Centre at Jalan 217. I had always taken the Altis previously to the one in Sungai Buloh (which is not as daft as it sounds as I can get there quite easily through Kota Damansara...), but was less than convinced with their level of service. Most notably they took forever to order and replace my interior rear view mirror.

So looked around for closer ones, and shortlisted down to the Jalan 217, Section 19, or Section 15 Shah Alam. The SA one turned out to be a dealer (normally thought to be not as good) and the S19 one was notorious for its long queue and scratch-happy mechanics. So 217 it was.

Anyway the service turned out to be alright, though it took almost the whole day as I was claiming warranty for the broken driver's floor mat clip and the bubbling patch of paint in the engine compartment.

All in spent around 360 for the service including fully synthetic oil, and alignment and balancing. All I can say is that it felt like a new car! Turns out the previous owner had specified mineral oil for the previous 5k service (which was fine for running in). The fully syn really made a world of difference. Engine felt a lot lighter, and noise was more subdued. Well worth the premium. Let's see how it holds out...

On the minus side, turns out my floor mat clip needs replacing, and they haven't got stock as it's the side underneath the mat that broke, hence more complicated than replacing the upper hook-like part. Also they needed 2 days to fix the bubbling patch. The paint was quickly fixed the week after, but till now I am still waiting for the mat clip!

The alignment was also not good, and didn't fix the car veering to the left. I subsequently went back 3 times (!!!) and it was not fixed until the 3rd visit! This is positively embarassing, not being able to do a decent alignment job!

Visiting Relatives...

Yesterday we brought Jun Lee and Jun Yen to visit their relatives in the Puchong area. My aunt (babies' grand aunt) and my sister-in-law (babies' aunt) happens to live in the same area, although it does sound absurd to actually say that Bandar Kinrara and Bandar Bukit Puchong are in the same area... Those familiar with Puchong will know what I am talking about, for those who are not, suffice to say it is a long drive from one to the other!

The main reason was to hand them the souvenirs and snacks wifey brought back from Melbourne, mostly macadamias, chocolates, nougat, and fridge magnets.

At both places both of them behaved very well, I must say. At their aunt's place they were fawned over by their 2 cousins vying to hold them both.

At their grand aunt's, they were initially a bit subdued (ie blur) but after getting used to the place, Jun Lee began to crawl all over the living room. My aunt was very happy to see them again too, and was grinning from ear to ear to see their antics.

Sitting Up and Standing...

Jun Yen has managed to learn 2 things at once this week!

She learnt to sit up by herself sometime last week, except that her technique differs from Jun Lee's. Jun Lee would roll onto her belly, tuck one leg under, and pivot up on the side.

Jun Yen would roll onto her belly, tuck both legs under like she was going to crawl, and push herself up vertically.

On Saturday, we also found that she knows how to stand up on her own now! Wifey tried to wake me up on Saturday morning saying that Jun Yen was standing, so I looked and saw both of them standing up in their cots. I thought that wifey had propped Jun Yen up to stand, so didn't think much of it, until wifey told me in no uncertain terms that she pulled herself up and stood up on her own!

Oh boy... now we have to buy another cot, as the sides around the playpen that Jun Yen sleep in now is really too low, and I'm afraid that she'd tip over onto the floor. Same as when we began putting Jun Lee exclusively in the wooden cot.

Newly mobile...

This evening I wanted to take a nap with the babies, but after an hour I can report that I didn't get any sleep! Both babies were quite amused to see me, and while Jun Yen was content to look at me and gurgle and play with her toys, Jun Lee literally climbed all over me!

She stood on my belly, touched my face, pulled my ear, tugged at my hair and played with my toes!!! Despite getting up to move her into another spot to play, she'd come back up to me again. Don't get me wrong, it was a lot of fun playing with them, but that's the last time I will attempt to get any sleep on the same bed...

Jun Yen has learnt to crawl too! Yesterday when her Mommy was sleeping on the mattress with the babies, Jun Yen wanted to go to her Mommy, so she began to crawl, inching up on her tummy. (note: I have subsequently been reminded that Jun Yen has been able to do that since like 2 months ago, but she just never showed much interest in crawling about)

Clapping hands...

Jun Lee could clap her hands since last week before Mommy returned home. Granted not clapping like adults do, but she's learnt to put her hands together to make a little sound.

So now we have one daughter who sings, and another who claps her hands, hehe...

New Tires... Goodyear Excellence Review...

Finally got around to put these on the car on Tuesday evening. Don't ask how much I got it for lah... ;P Its closest competitors would probably be the Michelin MXV8/Pilots, Bridgestone Turanzas and the Yokohama Drives.

You can't get them in retail for now as it has not been officially launched for the Malaysian market, though they can be seen on the road as OE tires for the new Honda Accord.

Goodyear Excellence

The Goodyear Excellence; an assymetric radial similar in design to the Eagle ResponsEdge in the USA, the new 3-zone tire which is touted as being optimised for security (wet grip), handling (cornering) and comfort. Let's see...

Before this, a short take on the Camry OE tires to understand my basis for comparison. They are H-rated Michelin Vivacys made in Thailand and supplied as OE to the CBU Camrys we have on the Malaysian market. I have heard of the Vivacys, but that was like a long long time ago. A check on the net confirmed that the Vivacy is a very old design (produced since 1999) and no longer sold on retail since many moons ago, being superceded by the MXV8.

Based on what I can find on the net, they are quite grippy (being OE on the previous generation Aussie Camry Sportivos) yet comfort biased tires. I find them to be very good comfort wise (the soft compound and sidewalls help here) and okay noise wise, though to be honest I can't really say on the grip. I've done some hard corners on these but to be honest in a large cushy car like the Camry the body roll makes you back off way before the tires' limits are reached. Still, I have experienced no squealing or chirping throughout, which is good. They are quite squirmy though, and I occasionally think I feel the sidewalls flexing on hard corners. So there we have it: non-directional symmetical comfort biased touring tires.

The size used is 215/60/R16 with a rating of 95H. How well does it live up to its Security, Handling and Comfort claims? My immediate impression driving out from the tire shop was that it felt noticeably stiffer than my old Michelin Vivacys. Makes the whole car very German-like in its firmer feel.

Security; can't say for now as most new tires handle rain fairly well. True, there were some awful donuts in past cars which have given me hair-raising moments, but since I don't drive fast in the rain (which no one should anyway...) I've had little to complain with regards to water dispersion. Last night when I was heading back home was the first I've driven with the Goodyears in the rain, and there was nothing extraordinary to report, which is good.

Handling; it feels more confident due to the stiffer sides, and I'm delighted with it, as I always found the Michelins (and indeed the Camry) to be rather squishy. These Goodyears firmed things up a notch, though by no means making it uncomfortable. They sort of make the whole car's handling a bit tauter, which to me is all good.

As for Comfort; it's quieter too, but the true test will be after 10k kms. Significantly, the rough sections of the Federal Highway sounded noticeably more muted. A stop at the nearby petrol station to check the air pressure helped the ride somewhat, but there is no disguising that this is a more performance oriented tire than the Michelins.

I've seen some rather negative reviews on the noise levels of this tire on the Honda Accord. While I am inclined to say that these are certainly not the quietest tires around, they are significantly better than average in terms of noise, and the trade-off in handling more makes up for it.

Having test-driven an Accord with these fitted it does seem noticeably noisier and harsher, which can only be put down to the lousy insulation on the Accord. Before I get flamed by the Honda fanboys, let me just clarify by saying that Honda does a lot of things well, but noise and comfort are not on the list of do-wells.

I will post more updates as it wears on. I'm very impressed so far, and if the low noise levels hold out, I'd give this a hearty thumbs-up!

Update 1: It's now been about 500kms since I put these donuts on, and by now they would have been scrubbed in properly. My opinion on the noise levels still stands; it's a surprisingly quiet tyre. Grip is decent enough, though again I have had no occasion to do any potentially tyre-squealing maneuvers...

Update: After the first outstation trip with these tyres, and with close to 3k kms on it, they remain quiet and comfy. Also got to really test out its rain capabilities, as it rained almost all the way back, being really heavy at certain stretches, but they proved able to resist aquaplaning quite well even at speeds of 100km/h, and traversed the stretches of standing water without the steering wheel going limp in your hand (sure sign of aquaplaning).

Update: It's not 10k kms since I had these fitted, and still pretty good with all the parameters ie noise, comfort, handling, close to when new.

Greedy profiteers...

For as long as anyone can remember, trade has relied on a group of people who usually add little value, yet in many cases derives a healthy profit from simply juggling the products from the producer to the end-user; yes, I'm talking about the middle-men.

Ever since I was old enough to understand economics, I have been baffled as to why these group of people get paid so much to do so little...

The advent of information technology has to some extent helped meet up sellers and buyers, and I am an enthusiastic e-trader (all the potential pitfalls aside..) and traded on Ebay since 2000, when online trading was still very much unheard of in Malaysia.

The scourge of the middle-man was brought to fore again most vividly this evening when I was changing my tires. The tires I was replacing had only a few thousand kms on, and for the most part looked brand new. I had already flogged off these tires online earlier for a sum of RM650, and when I was at the shop loading the replaced tires into my car, the boss came by and asked why I bothered taking them back, more convenient to sell it to them lah, blah blah blah.

Just out of curiousity, I asked him for a quote, and he deliberated a while as if he was like really trying to give me a good price, and came up with... (insert drumroll here...) ... RM200!!!

It was all I could do not to laugh in his face!!!

Here is a guy who, if I had let him, buys my tires for RM200, claiming all kinds of defects (which is tosh, I mean, how hard can you wear out tires for few thou kms???) and will later clean them up, and sell them to some sod for easily RM700. Make a profit of RM500 plus, and has he done anything worthwhile for it? Big fat NO.

I don't mind people making a profit, after all it is what makes the world go round, but greedy people like this really makes my blood boil. For goodness' sake, learn to make an honest living, or you are no better than a whore!

Well, that's it for my rantings today, but I really did feel very strongly about this.

So the next time you want to sell anything, try to do it online first, don't trade it into the phone shop or tire shop or whatever. They will pay you peanuts, and sell it to the next guy for a fortune. You both lose. You do it directly, you both win!

The Singing...

Jun Yen has been quite vocal lately, of which her Papa is one example. Last week we found that she has learnt to respond to us. Mom and Dad demonstrated this by saying "chang ge" (sing) to Jun Yen, and she would do so. To make sure it was no fluke, we did it a few more times, with consistent response from her. Bravo Jun Yen! Encore!

Doe a deer, a female deer...

Yesterday evening Mom played the Sound of Music CD, and Jun Yen made a lot of noise, like she was singing along with the Do-Re-Mi song. If I haven't mentioned it before, this song since not long after they were born has been their favourite song, and anytime I sing it to them they'd smile...

Playing Together...

The babies now interact actively with each other, and since they spend most of their day on the large mattress downstairs, they tend to come into contact with each other.

Funny incidents have included Jun Yen sucking Jun Lee's toes, Jun Lee licking the top of Jun Yen's head. They also love to play with each other's diapers which are really colorful. Jun Lee especially likes to disturb Jun Yen. Jun Yen would tend to sleep more during the day than Jun Lee, and she would crawl over to her sister and do all kinds of things like touching her head, scratching her diaper and so on, and this would of course wake Jun Yen up.

CheChe, don't cry...

The thing is, although Jun Lee likes to play with her sister, she doesn't like it when her sister does the same to her, and would usually cry very loudly.

Although I must add in this case the picture above was not caused by Jun Yen. Jun Lee had crawled down onto the mats, so I carried her back up to the mattresss, which she clearly didn't like. Of course, Jun Yen also started tugging at Jun Lee's shirt, so it really did look like she was comforting her sister.

Standing Up...

Since the week before (9 June) we have already put the babies back into cots as they tend to get in each other's way on the mattress, and also because Jun Lee tends to disturb Jun Yen.

For the first week we've rotated the cots, with each baby sleeping one night in each. Since beginning of this week we have stuck to putting Jun Lee in the wooden cot as she tried to climb past the barrier on the playpen cot which is quite a bit lower.

Morning Sis, you awake yet?

I'm awake, and I want milk milk...

This morning, I was shocked to see that she had managed to pull herself up on the cot's railing, and peering over into her sister's cot! According to Mom she'd learnt to do that since yesterday. So I grabbed the camera and took some pics, and ended up being almost late for work.

Sitting up...

Jun Lee can now sit up! Yeah, sure, she and JY have been doing that for a while now, but now Jun Lee can do it on her own!

You can put her lying on her back onto the mattress, and very quickly, she will roll onto her belly, tuck one leg under her belly, and push herself up!

Not So Typical Weekend...

Here’s a typical weekend day, or at least as typical as it can be when wifey’s not around. Woken up at around 0800 by Jun Yen making whimpering noises. Must be hungry, poor girl… Jun Lee still asleep. Nowadays Jun Lee usually sleeps till later, but that’s because she hardly sleeps during the day. Very active lah…

Handed babies their milk, and that kept them busy for a while. As usual after they’ve finished their morning feed, they’re very happy, and after playing a while they’d go back to sleep. I went down for breakfast and left them in their cots until 1030 when Mom and I carried them downstairs for their baths.

Mom and Dad bought back a pack of nasi lemak at the Taman Tun market (the prepacked variety) and taufoofah. The rice was quite good, and had a decent amount of condiments for RM1. Finished that and left for assignment discussion at 1400. Classmates were delayed for a while and only got everyone together at 1445. We were mostly done by 1700, and I left for the badminton courts to pick stuff up from a friend.

New toy!New toy! L-R Jun Lee, Jun Yen

Arrived home to find the babies sitting up playing with toys, and in Jun Lee’s case, looking for opportunities to climb over the pillows. Mom bought them this new toy a few days back, and at first Jun Lee wasn’t interested in it, but seeing Jun Yen playing with it she wanted to play as well. Fortunately Jun Yen simply played with the other new toy (not pictured) and didn't make a huge fuss.

Papa, we're all dressed up to go to bed...

Later after they were changed and washed up, took them upstairs and sat them on our bed to take some pics, but because of the new environment, they looked a bit lost and were very curious. But it wasn't long before the both of them got bored and started crawling about!

Bump Goes The Baby...

By now both babies can crawl, or at least inch along, quite well. Again, here they're very different. Jun Lee is more physically inclined, and moves all over the mattress they spend most of the day on. A week ago (2nd June to be precise...) she crawled over the pillows we had put to fence them in, fell and cried like no tomorrow. (and the next day developing a sizable bump on her forehead)

Of course that scared the hell out of me, and I drove out (it was around 8pm) and bought a set of those foam "ABC" mats to lay on the floor as we were fairly certain that it won't be the last time she attempts something like that.

Hey, I can touch the mat! Wonder if it tastes good...

Jun Lee seems to be the more adventurous (and hence naughtier) of the two, crawling and moving about all the time, while Jun Yen is more patient and content to sit and play with her toys. Jun Lee even flips and turns around in her bouncing net! I've lost count of the contortions she can do on it already...

Wifey's Birthday...

After dinner at Kura (and the requisite walkabout in 1-Utama...) dropped by Secret Recipe at Centerpoint for wifey's requisite slice of cake to wish and blow candles upon.

Wifey saw Baskin Robbins next to Secret Recipe and asked for ice-cream cake instead. So got a slice of nice pink strawberry cake RM10+) and got home to find Mom had tucked the babies in.

We woke the babies up (I know, I know... I'm the one who always says never wake a sleeping baby...) and got them to join Mommy to blow candle out on cake. Funnily enough, though they were a bit bewildered at first, they weren't grumpy or cranky at being woken up...

Mommy, I want cake! I want cake!

Why? Because it's Mommy's first birthday with them mer...

And the cake? Let's just say it was forgettable... It's the event that's memorable...

Kura Japanese Restaurant at One World...

We went to Kura at One World Hotel for wifey's birthday as we had heard good things about it. Also, the choice of ala-carte Japanese was deliberate as this week was sheer gluttony. (Wed - King Crab, Thu - Kura, Fri - Serena Brasserie, Sat - Hooi Loong) So something light yet sufficiently refined to slot in between those feasts.

We were seated at what I can only describe as cubicle. On the plus side it gave us a lot of privacy, but felt rather claustrophobic initially. The menu was rather intimidating with a huge selection. For simplicity's sake, I ended up ordering the Rokkaku Bento (RM65) for wifey and the Sakura Chirashidon Zen (RM35) for myself. Here are the pics of both, the larger set is the Rokkaku Bento. Taken with incredibly crappy Nokia 2mp phone.

Rokkaku Bento

Sakura Chirashidon Zen

To sum it up, it was very satisfactory. Portions were large, so much so by the end we felt a bit like we had just hit a buffet. Quality was more than decent, with the sashimi on wifey's bento deserving mention. Wifey usually likes her sashimi with lots of wasabi and shoyu, but this time she didn't touch either. According to her, the fish was great enough on its own. And lastly, price? Very fair for the portions, quality and environment. Service was also very prompt, though the staff looked a bit confused at times.

Papapapa... Mamamama...

Last week, Jun Yen had already learnt to babble something that sounds like Papapapa... much to wifey's annoyance. Though I'm fairly certain that she has no idea what it means and it's most likely just plain babbling. Still, it's a pleasure to hear, and is music to any father's ears.

Also Jun Lee yesterday learnt to say something similar, but certainly not Papapapa, if anything it sounded closer to Mamamama, so that pleased wifey.

King Crab Restaurant...

Went out for dinner today at King Crab for wifey's birthday. Mom and Dad's treat. Brought babies along, and for some reason today parking was packed along the road, so getting babies off proved a bit of a chore.

Ordered the Crab with Creamy Sauce (Lai Yau Hai), Fried 4 veges in shrimp paste (Sei Tai Tin Wong), Pork Belly with Yam (Wu Tao Kau Yuk), Clams in Superior Soup (Siong Tong Lala) and Steamed Silver Snapper.

Overall quite disappointing, bar the crab's still-excellent sauce and the lala. The Pork Belly and veges were so-so, and the fish quite abysmal, and not cheap at that. Crabs were rather small, and flesh not firm. And true to form, the last order (a fried bread roll) was forgotten. Service was as usual chaotic.

Price for 1.5kg of crabs about RM60, the lacklustre fish was a whopping RM70, the rest of the prices were quite fair, and hence not memorable. I don't know why we put up with this in light of the deteriorating food quality. I think we'll be giving this place a miss in the future.

Shiny...

Here's a day's worth of detailing the car. I think its fabulous, though not as bright as it could be as the shine is somewhat blunted due to the orange-peel as mentioned below. Compounding, compounding... later lah, huh...

5 hours worth of work!

No lah, it's not a solid 5 hours working on it. If so I would have passed out from exhaustion a long time ago... A lot of the time was spent waiting for the stuff to cure, inspecting, touching up, etc.

I had initially wanted a professional full detailing job, and even went so far as to go seek out a very reputable detailer for a quote, but ultimately balked at the RM500+ price. Not that it wasn't reasonable; it was, as the job covered both exterior and interior detailing, including the very labour intensive compounding to sort out the orange-peel effect which almost all new cars have.

Went home, took a good look at the paint. Conclusion - it was practically brand new, and decided I could live with the orange-peel, and save the whole compounding she-bang for a few years down the line. Under these circumstances I figured I could do as good a job as any pro-detailer; I had quite a bit of kit, had the basic skills, and most importantly I really care! (my own car mah...) So for now, all I wanted was protection for the paint, and to clean up the interior. Not that it was grubby or anything close, just that despite the previous owner's meticulous care, the beige leather had already become slightly stained in some places. Also, aesthetics aside, I just didn't fancy sitting on top of someone else's stains!

So last month Saturday 17th was D(etailing)-day! I got down and dirty! Washed the car thoroughly, clayed it, dried it, used my favourite arsenal of Autoglym's Super Resin Polish and topped up with Extra Gloss Protection, and voila! Superb! Paint was even better than when it came out of the factory, smooth and shiny! Now to make sure it stays that way...

Took the whole morning and a bit of the evening. Was so tired out at the end of it all! But well worth it. Now to do the interior, and will most likely go Meguiars for this. Look at my detailing posts for more.

Detailing Arsenal...

From my previous post, doesn't take much to guess that yes, I am an Autoglym fan. I've used Meguiars, Kit, Turtle Wax, Armor All, Simoniz, Amway, 3M and goodness knows what else, but at the end of the day, nothing beats Autoglym for ease of use and durability. You can just get away with using only SRP, and it'd last for months, but coupled with EGP, I have gone almost a year without waxing my previous car, and the protection was still there.

The only drawback (price aside) is that Autoglym is ridiculously difficult to get in KL, and I am already shuddering at the imminent run-out of my SRP & EGP. And when you do manage to find it, Autoglym stuff is firmly in the premium segment and prices are not for the faint hearted!

But if you really think about it, it's money well spent. Better to spend more for stuff that works than spend less on stuff that doesn't. Quality aside, both the SRP and EGP goes a long way. In fact I can't even remember when I last bought EGP which costs RM58.80 for a 325ml bottle.

My detailing paraphernalia consists of some very eclectic stuff, a lot of it bought due to recommendations, impressive labels, and the desire for experimentation.

Regular usage - Autoglym SRP, EGP, Meguiars Rich Leather Cleaner & Conditioner, Magic Clay Bar (or something like that bought at Eneos), Armor All Shampoo (not bad actually, but phasing out in favor of Autoglym), various sponges, various cotton cloths, The Absorber (fantastic drying cloth! Costs 70 bucks!!! But well worth it, used it 5 years already), Meguairs Clear Coat Body Scrub (fantastic at getting rid of small scuffs and marks)

Gathering dust - Meguairs Quik Detailer (part of the claying package, the clay bar is horrid, too sticky), Meguairs Carpet Cleaner (okay lah...), Turtle Wax Hard Shell Wax (bought with a sense of false economy), Turtle Wax Bug & Tar Remover (doesn't work well and smells awful), Eneos Tyre Gel (useless, thank goodness it's cheap), Armor All Protectant (not good, using it for tyres now)

Stuff to be deployed - Autoglym Bodywork Shampoo Conditioner (couldn't find this earlier), Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber Care (got from Singapore), Autoglym Fast Glass, various microfiber cloths, microfiber wash mitt.

I also have Bosch 270AE orbital, which I have used all of two times! Found it too much fuss to get it out, plug it in just for the application stage as orbitals are pretty useless for any serious work (polishing) and no good for buffing either. Besides Autoglym stuff (especially EGP) is quite watery and works better with hand application.

Trip To KL...

It might seem odd that I've titled this post "Trip To KL". A friend to whom I mentioned this "trip" the night before jokingly remarked that I made it sound so eventful, when really going to KL is as mundane as you can get.

As I reflect on that, I realised that having children adds a new dimension to your life. Suddenly every little event becomes fresh again as you have the children with you. Our first time going out, our first time to TGIF, our first trip to KL... On the flip side, first time I had poo in my lap...

Waiting for Mommy to do her banking...

Anyway, went to town this morning to collect wifey's credit card at Citibank. Could have had it couriered, but as we hadn't been to KL for a while, decided to drive down. Besides, I wanted to see the new (by now not quite...) Pavilion, and would be good to see how the babies reacted to a longer (than the usual jumps to Curve/1-U area) car trip.

Got the babies ready by 1045, and off we went. Got as far as Damansara Jaya before turning back due to some forgotten stuff amidst the rush...

Here I digress. For those of you who do not have kids, or kids who've grown up and you've forgotten what it was like, taking a baby (let alone TWO) out is no walk in the park. First you've got to clean and dress them, then pack their stuff in a bag (in our case 2 bags) including diapers, lots of hankies, spare clothes, blanket, bottles, formula, hot water, wipes, tissues... PHEW!!! Also have to load two strollers into the car. Although ours are MacLaren Triumphs (chosen primarily due to weight, or lack of) weighing 6.75kgs (other strollers typically are around 8kgs) it's still a bit of work. Then strap the babies into the car seats, and lock everything up and go! By now having done it dozens of times, wifey and I have managed to turn it into a finely timed affair, but I'm still amazed each time we pull it off...

To cut a long story short, had an uninspired lunch at the Food Republic food court, and babies too. But it was quite a futile effort trying to feed them as they were so distracted and excited, barely got through 3/4 of their usual feed. They attracted quite a bit of attention, pushing them in their strollers together always does it! Jun Yen was very comfortable through it all, for that matter so was Jun Lee, though she fidgeted quite and slid down in her stroller. As she was also sucking her thumbs (and fingers) a lot, this resulted in a not so cute picture.

And the Pavilion, it was quite nice, though it reminded me of a cross between the Starhill of yore and KLCC. Quite a few interesting outlets too, but didn't get to check them out as I was rushing back for my weekly badminton session. What we did get to check out was the baby changing room, and for this, the Pavilion gets a thumbs up! Well sized, with a large sink, paper towels and a partitioned feeding section, it was great! Thanks to Jun Yen making a poo that we had to use it.

In the evening after badminton, brought babies along to Kanna's for banana-leaf rice. Arranged to meet parents there at 6.30pm. The babies again got a lot of attention, this time from the waiters, luckily we got a nice corner so they weren't disturbed. After dinner drove back to parents' place together, dropped babies off and had my brother drop us off at 1U. Did a bit of shopping where I got some microfiber cloths, wash mitt and coil mats for the car.

Toyota Altis 1.8G 2005...

You'd be wondering if I was caught in a time warp, reviewing a car already superceded, but I just wanted to put down what I thought of the car.

So, the Toyota Corolla Altis E120, sold in Malaysia (and the USA and most of Southeast Asia) a variant of the plain vanilla Corolla, positioned as a more up-market alternative. It was initially sold in 3 specs; the 1.6E Auto & Manual, and the 1.8G. The version sold in Malaysia was introduced in 2001, and lasted until recently when the E140 Altis was launched early 2008.

Toyota Altis 1.8G 2005

Throughout its life cycle, it went through 2 facelifts. It was launched with a vertically striped grille. In 2004, the 1st facelift gave it a horizontally striped grille, new front bumper and new foglight design, larger 16” wheels, darker shade of plastic wood, MP3 capable stereo and LED rear lamps. It was also around this time that the 1.6E manual model disappeared.

In 2006, the 2nd facelift changed the seat upholstery, reinstated a vertically striped grille (with chromed vertical slats), front parking sensors, LED 3rd brake lamp, new rear license plate garnish (painted, with a chrome stripe), new steering wheel with audio controls that looked like the one in the outgoing Camry, turning lamps on the side mirrors, and the option of a (very ugly) bodykit. Note that this refers to the 1.8G model. The 1.6E model had different specs altogether, most notably the lack of VSC, though the cosmetic changes were adopted.

Mine was the 2004-facelift version, manufactured in 2005. I bought it with under 25k kms on the clock in late 2006, and sold it off with a little over 40k kms in mid 2008. Throughout its model life it sold for varying prices, but from 2006 it's list price was about RM111k. It was fairly well kitted out, with dual airbags, ABS, 4-disk brakes, powered driver’s seat, climate control, UV-cut glass (though it still needed a decent tint), MP3 capable stereo, immobilizer, 16” wheels with Bridgestone Turanza ER30s, and lots of fake wood and chrome bits. Its trump card though was VSC (Vehicle Stability Control) incorporating TRC (Traction Control) which none of its mass market peers in Malaysia had until the introduction of the new Civic in 2006.

First off, the drivetrain. In normal pottering about town, the 1ZZ-FE (makes 100kW/134bhp @ 6000rpm and 170nm @ 4200rpm) engine is in its element, with lots of torque down low, and very eager to leap and go. Engine sound was muted with the occasional very faint rattle, sounding like valvetrian noise. However, it sounded a bit coarse and tinny towards the upper reaches of the rev range, though at the same time also sounding a bit sporty, but veering more towards agricultural. Also the eagerness at low revs didn’t translate into high rev performance. After 5000rpms, further prods on the throttle produced noise that didn’t really match the acceleration. This then is a car tuned for drivability than outright performance. The gearbox, despite being 4-speeds was perfectly fine, being smooth, quick to react, and you won’t really notice nor care after a while about the missing 5th gear. It had an “ECT power” function, which held on to gears longer if activated, which supposedly held on to gears higher up the rev range, but throughout my ownership I probably used it once just to test it, and left it off for the rest of the time as the gearbox intelligence made this rather superfluous. Fuel consumption is quite good, returning an average of 10km/L in town driving. Only real gripe I can think of is the rather light throttle pedal, and more than once I found myself surging forward when all I wanted to do was to inch forward.

As for the chassis, all I can say is that it works. And that's being nice. It meets its brief well, offering decent comfort and acceptable handling for most people. However, take it for a few corners and you realize this is the proverbial “sampan” (Malay for small boat) in handling stakes. In seeking comfort, the softening of the springs and absorbers led to obvious amounts of body roll and traces of float at speeds higher than 150km/h. In sweeping corners it performs quite alright, but its the tight and continuous corners that floor it (and most family cars). Apparently I was told that the facelift (endowing it with larger wheels and better tyres) had cured a lot of it, so I shudder to think what the pre-facelift was like. No wonder they had to fit in VSC… :P

In the urban environment away from the twisties of Ulu Yam, it performs admirably, cocooning its occupants from bumps and road imperfections. Personally, comfort was just so-so, and while it damped out the larger bumps, ruts and corrugated roads were rather too faithfully transmitted. Do note though that I tend to benchmarks most cars' comfort levels to my Peugeot, which are pretty much masters of the comfort-handling stakes (or at least they used to be…) so I do tend to be more critical than I should here.

The interior? I would say it's good. Lots of soft touch plastics, light colors, everything well placed, clearly labeled and minimalist as far as buttons were concerned (as opposed to the button-fests some competitors went for) makes for a pleasant cabin. Seats are supportive and nice to touch, though overall color scheme (two-tone beige) can cause the cabin and upholstery to look ratty if not taken care of, but that’s a small price to pay for an airier cabin. I don't understand why some people love dark cabins in family cars. True, they look sportier, but in a family sedan, the novelty is not going to last, and over time that shade of schizophrenic black or suicidal grey would annoy me more and more. I’d much prefer the car to be really sporty as opposed to LOOKING sporty, thank you very much. Still on the plus side, convenience features like lots of cubby holes and cupholders, fold down rear seats, “tapau” (takeaway) hooks behind the passenger seat makes it easier to live with. Also, the chrome bits on the door handles and air cond vent adjusters, leather steering wheel and gear knob do give it a more up-market feel, though the chrome surround on the gearshift is a bad call. It is a large chromed plate that, on a sunny day (which is most days in Malaysia) shoots blinding sunlight straight into your eyes at certain angles. I could also do with less of the fake plastic wood. Overall, very well built with everything tightly screwed together and gaps at a minimum, living up to the perceived Toyota quality.

Noise insulation, a near-obsession for me, is decent. Road noise is minimal despite the large wheels and rather noisy tyres, wind noise well suppressed, and engine noise sufficiently muted except in hard acceleration. No complaints here.

Space is quite decent, though not great width-wise as it is rather a narrow car, and legroom for rear passengers is just adequate. Boot space is good, and no uneven boot-floor issues to contend with. The car on the whole feels light, which largely contributes to its leap-and-go behaviour, but you do wish they hadn’t skimped on the boot-lid lining (without which the boot-lid top feels and sounds like a tin can) and the roof insulation (obviously not enough; when it rains causes quite a racket). However in light of high fuel prices, I wouldn't protest too vigorously all these cost (and weight) savings.

Overall, quite a pleasant ownership experience. Great car for the urban jungle. I claimed 2 new front shocks and an interior rear view mirror under warranty, and this was done with no fuss. The Toyota service centers are however, not as numerous as I’d like, and service appointments need to be arranged way in advance due to the high amount of Toyotas. The charges are also on the high side, with a simple oil change costing RM175 for oil, RM25 for filter, RM72 for labor and some small amount for gasket, though the thought (or belief) that it is being done right goes some way towards justifying the premium.

Bye Bye Car, Hello Car...

Finally got hold of our car last week (Friday night to be precise). Concurrently, sold off my car that had served us well for 1 1/2 years. Remarkably good condition if I may say so. Barely 40k kms, just out of warranty. Sold it to a friend, so we'll still see it quite regularly. Did a detailed review of it in another post here.

As for the new car, was a bit intimidated by its size at first, but turns out I needn't have worried as it was a breeze to drive. Insulation and built was as expected, top notch. Engine (1AZ-FE making 108kW) wasn't bad either as I thought it'd be wheezy with all the weight to haul around. True, could do with more power and a tad more refinement, but overall more than acceptable, helped in large part by the dollops of low-end torque.

Update 1: Okay, I take back what I said about the refinement, after the service it was like a new engine! Must be due to the run-in and the changing out of the old mineral oil.

Update 2: On our first outstation trips, it proved to be comfortable, quiet and frugal (doing over 14km/L), with none of the wallowing feeling of its predecessor.

Update 3: I rented a Camry Altise (2.4l 2AZ-FE making 117kW) when I was in Australia in November. This is basically the American Camry body with the local Camry 2.4l engine. Surprisingly I didn't feel there was much difference to my car in terms of acceleration, except in the upper reaches of the speedometer. Makes me kinda glad I didn't shell out another 20 grand more...

Weekly Outing...

I make it a point to try to bring the babies out once a week, even if it's just a short hop over to my parents' place, just to get them used to the outside world, unfamiliar faces, and riding in a car.

Mommy, this is how we rolled around in your tummy!

In some way this was prompted last week when both twins became quite good at recognising people (and consequently crying at the sight of strangers...). When our part time maids came, Jun Lee cried when she saw them, and did the same with our friends who came by this morning.

Tonight we brought them out to TGI Fridays at 1-Utama for dinner. There simply aren't that many baby-friendly places around, and while TGIF wasn't ideal, it was reasonable provided you got a corner waaaaayyy off the smoking section. Music was quite loud, but that didn't seem to bother babies at all. The only thing that did bother Jun Lee was being put facing the wall. She got bored and started fidgeting (together with accompanying noises...). Everything was well as soon as we put her facing the rest of the restaurant. It was mighty lucky we managed to snag a parking spot right in front of TGIF too.

Hostess got us a decent table by the corner with reasonable space to park the strollers, and was very friendly with the babies. Dinner went well, food was usual TGIF standards; that is to say, nothing outstanding, but you know what to expect. Kinda sounds a bit like McDonalds doesn't it...

I ordered the ever-reliable cheeseburger, and also the 39.90 set menu. The 39.90 menu seems to have gone a bit downmarket, I can't recall what exactly they took off, but I do know they removed the ribs from the entree choices. Ended up with boneless chicken wings (chunks of chicken coated in batter and fried, heavy-handed with the batter, but genorous portions nevertheless...), sizzling chicken and cheese (two large piece of chicken breast grilled and swimming in a sizzling bath of cheese, very satisfying for cheese fans...) and chocolate malt cake (very ordinary and not recommended...).

After dinner it was only 8.30, so went to the new wing to buy plastic bowls for babies' cereal, and back to old wing where wifey bought clothes. Babies very well behaved, but then this is their first time in 1-Utama (I have subsequently been informed by wife that they HAVE been to 1-U, though I can't remember when), so they were boggled eyed throughout, and didn't sleep a wink.

Just how tired they were was evident when they fell asleep pretty much as soon as we got out of the carpark. Took the long way home to let them nap a little more, and tired out from their trip, slept very well throughout the night.

Lake Toba...

We're home! Whew... All I can say is, what a relief. I think this is one of those holidays that was not restful and took its toll on me. Of course, a large part of it wasn't Indonesia's fault, but largely due to a vicious flu that I caught from a colleague while in Singapore. Again, not Singapore's fault either... the colleague is Malaysian... :P

Lake Toba as seen from Sipisopiso

The weather (hot most of the time) and the travelling certainly took its toll on an already weakened me, and I certainly didn't have a cushy time. Despite doses of Panadol, by the time the Air Asia flight landed in KLIA it was a very weak me that crawled off the plane and into the taxi.

Samosir Island

Lake Toba was truly breathtaking, especially from the vantage point of Sipisopiso. On one side the view of the enormous lake, the amazing waterfall on the other.

Sipisopiso Waterfall

North Sumatra has some fantastic vistas, but is on the most part severely hampered by the lack of tourist amenities (decent hotels, decent transportation, etc.). I would really recommend anyone thinking of a trip here to bypass Parapat altogether and go via Berastagi.

Throughout our stay we had no problems finding good food (mostly Padang cuisine) and on our last night at Mikie Holidays hotel it was truly outstanding. We had dinner in the hotel cafeteria. Wifey ordered a plate of sizzling prawns, and I ordered a Sop Buntut (Oxtail Soup). The prawns were sizeable, fresh, and plentiful, and my soup was nothing short of sensational. Wifey also had a Jus Terung Belanda (Tamarillo juice) and me a pot of tea. Best part was it cost us only the equivalent of RM39!!!

Unfortunately, our overwhelming impression of the trip were the roads, which are best described as potholes joined by strips of tarmac. Pity...

Holding bottles...

I was away since Monday evening in Singapore on work, and only got back this evening around 8pm, though the flight landed around 6pm, thanks to the crazy long queue for taxis at the KLIA.

I wasn't around for the babies' 6 months old birthday (if there is such a thing...) but wifey took some pictures of them. Here they are wearing the pretty blouses Grandma & Grandpa bought.

Papa, we're 6 months old today!

The surprise was when I found both of them holding their own bottles during the night feed! I didn't know they could do that already. What difference a week makes...

As I mentioned in a previous post, Jun Lee (and later Jun Yen) could already hold their own bottles, but this time both were doing it steadily and all the way till the end!

We're leaving for Medan and Lake Toba tomorrow morning till Tuesday, so looks like I'm gonna miss them for a few more days...

Out For Dinner...

Babies were very good girls today, sleeping and playing by themselves for most of the day. Jun Yen since a week ago has learnt to flip onto her belly unassisted (previously she would flip over but then have one arm pinned under herself) and doing so more regularly. She still doesn't look very comfy though, as Jun Lee does. Jun Lee really likes to lie belly down and lift her head, while at the same time crossing and uncrossing her legs, all the while looking supremely relaxed like someone at the beach.

Had a hankering for Japanese food (after the unfulfilling Jap meal yesterday...) so decided to go to either Fu Rin or Seki Tei as Momo was out due to the rather smokey environment and increased prices. After all UOB has a 20% discount which makes these two look like pretty good value.

Dressed babies up , packed up and off we went at 6.45pm. Arrived at Fu Rin, and after getting a parking spot and bundling babies into their strollers, went into Fu Rin and found that they don't offer a buffet! Only Sunday lunch apparently.

Bundled babies back into the car and off we went to Seki Tei. And to cut a long story short the same thing occurred. Should have checked that they served buffet before going of course, but it was a spur of the moment thing. Will definitely not take for granted next time!

Ended up at Eden in Subang Parade at 2015, and what-ho, found a parking right smack in front of the door! Not many customers though... Didn't really care by then and just looked for the first restaurant in sight. Decided on the executive set meal which looked like okay value at RM34.90. Settled on Caesar salad, Seafood Platter and Bread Pudding for me, and Cream of Pumpkin, Mixed Grill and Apple & Peach Crumble for wifey. All washed down with water, coffee and tea. As expected everything was unremarkable, but passable. Special mention to the soup though, that was really good. Portions were acceptably good too.

And the babies? Both were very well behaved through most of the getting off and on, and only got restless and twitchy towards end of the meal at Eden. I fed JL at around 2030 as it was time for her feed. JY was squirming and kicking a lot in her stroller after that and though we thought she was hungry, she only drank 3.5oz of the milk that we fed her. Wifey guessed correctly that she was sleepy, and very soon after we put them back in the car they were both asleep.

Decided to let them sleep more and went to the bank to drop off a cheque, that we were planning to do tomorrow. Babies very well behaved when we arrived home, as we changed them and put them to bed, though both were very very talkative and excitedly chattering very loudly. It was like they were talking to each other about their night out... Hehe...

Wifey tucked them in and told them to save their stories for tomorrow morning to tell Grandpa and Grandma... What a night...